Rosé
A broad category of wines that in today’s marketplace most commonly refers to European-style dry, pink-colored wines (even if made in the New World) that are produced predominantly from red varietals. Practically synonymous with warm weather, these offer similar flavors of many popular red wines but in a lighter style and are meant to be drunk chilled.
Flavor Descriptors
Flavors will depend somewhat on the varietals used, but rosé wines generally offer light- to medium-weight flavors and textures with subtle red fruits and a refreshing liveliness.
Food Pairings
Lighter styles
Picnic fare, pasta salads, grilled shrimp, mild cheeses.
Darker styles
Grilled chicken with rosemary, grilled fish, spicy Asian fare.
Buying, Storing, & Serving
Rosé should be served chilled but not ice cold.
Almost all rosé should be consumed within the year after release although some more robust examples can age another year or so. In general, though, fresher is better.
Store bottles in a cool, dark place. While it is now common for wine makers to use plastic corks or screw-top closures which may be stored vertically or horizontally, those with the traditional corks should be laid on their sides to keep them moist.